Page 8 of Grumpy Boss in Love

I slapped my forehead. “The man has a first name, Megan, and he told me to use it.”

She gasped. “You lucky bitch! Just how much time did you spend with him that night?”

“Megan,” I groaned. “Shush and let me finish. You said you wantedthe deets.”

“Okay, sorry.”

I glowered at her but continued. “He was with the other Professor Sinclair.”

“The psychology professor? Yeah, I’ve glimpsed him at the club a few times, but I doubt he recognized me.” Megan grinned. “He’s hot too, in a nerdy kind of way. I heard they’re related.”

Apparently, everybody with the title of professor was hot to Megan. “Uh-huh. So Elliot seemed just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. I was super embarrassed because our uniforms are made to show skin.”

“Yup.” She agreed. “But I don’t get why you’d be embarrassed. If you got it, flaunt it. And, Ruby, honey, you’ve got it. I’ve seen how plenty of the customers eye fuck you on a nightly basis.”

Ugh.I’ve seen it too. Talk about uncomfortable. If Luxe Elite’s paychecks weren’t keeping a roof over my head, I’d quit. “The curse of having childbearing hips and an ample bosom,” I muttered. “Anyway, it was weird having my professor…formerprofessor, see me in that state of dress. I felt like he was judging me the entire time he gawked at me.”

“I doubt that,” Megan said.

I snorted. “Elliot Sinclair gives me prude vibes.”

“What?”My friend stared at me as if I’d grown another head.

“He does. The man wears the most boring socks and ties, and he’salwaysscowling.”

Megan cackled and slapped the bar’s counter. “While the rest of us normal women were busy swooning over his good looks, you were analyzing his ties and socks. Really, Ruby? Are you not into men?”

My jaw slackened as I turned to Megan. “Seriously? I’m not into Professor Sinclair, so Imustbe into women? Do you hear yourself?”

Megan’s eyes widened, and she held up both palms. “It isn’t just him, Ruby. I’ve known you for four years. We even lived together. I’ve never seen you with a guy, never saw you go on a date.”

“I have my reasons.” I shrugged.

“Which are?”

Eyebrows drawn together, I turned to Megan. Sitting in a crowded bar, two drinks away from descending into drunk sorority girl mode, I couldn’t talk about my fears and reluctance to get involved in anything too deep with the opposite sex. My daddy issues were definitely not up for discussion. “My overall reason is because, as my nine-year-old niece Kelsey would say, boys are stupid.”

Megan threw her head back and bellowed. “Good point. That nine-year-old hit the nail on the head, huh?”

“Yup.” I sniggered, glad that she didn’t dig any further into my lack of a dating history.

“Okay, continue with the story. What else happened with Professor Sinclair? What was he wearing? Did he have on his glasses? God, he makes glasses so freaking hot.”

I heaved a sigh of annoyance at my friend’s obsession with our former professor. “No, he wasn’t wearing glasses, and he looked less stringent than he did in class…” I went on to share everything that happened. I told her how Elliot followed me to badger me about my employment choice, how he claimed to be “concerned” about me, and how he told me to call him Elliot.

But I didn’t dare mention how my heart had raced or how butterflies had wreaked havoc in my stomach from being so close to Elliot in that dark alley. It was strange seeing him outside of the classroom. It was like I was seeing him for the first time. He looked more appealing than usual…

God help me. Maybe I did have thetiniestlevel of attraction to my asshole professor. Good thing I wouldn’t have to see him again.

4

RUBY

“How do I look?” I held my phone up and out so the girls could see my outfit. I strolled down the sidewalk, lost in the throng of fellow pedestrians scurrying to get to their destination.

“You look amazing,” April gushed. “And why are you walking? Where’s your car?”

“It wouldn’t start this morning, and I didn’t want to be late.”

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